


Casey/Serena ficlets

by commasplice27



Category: Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:49:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28944684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commasplice27/pseuds/commasplice27
Summary: Hopefully this will be where I stash all my Casey/Serena ficlets.
Relationships: Casey Novak/Serena Southerlyn
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. The first

**Author's Note:**

> The first two of these were previously, halfhazardly posted on tumbler and the pit, and one of them is new.

“You make quite the impression.”

That was the reason Serena gave for coming over and talking to her. For very clearly hitting on her. For leaving her number. 

It never made sense to Casey. 

Serena had been so young to work in the EADA’s office. She’d been fired for being gay (or being liberal - the office gossip never came to a consensus on that), and went onto bigger and better things fast enough to give the gossip chain whiplash. She was ambitious, confident, and experienced.

For someone like Serena to not have taken off running from Casey the second she realized how… inexperienced Casey was... 

What possible impression could she have made on this woman for her to be willing to wait for Casey to be comfortable.

Casey never could figure it out.

  
-

She could have drowned in oxygen for how hard she was breathing. Her entire body had been laced with anticipation and now it was overwhelmed with sensation. Every sound from Serena hit her in her stomach, it caused her lungs to reach for more oxygen. Every new detail seemed to rush into her bod y:the way she tasted, and the way she feelt under her hands, and the way her fingertips gripped at her. 

She was completely overwhelmed and trying her best not to just flat out worship the woman who was setting her on fire. The woman who touched her like she was special. Like she’d been dying to. 

She didn’t think she would ever be over her name coming from Serena’s lips like that. 

After she was wrecked. She must have been, because she couldn’t think of anything more that she’d want to do than to hold her.

-

Serena ordered breakfast to be delivered the next morning and came back in the room to find Casey waiting for her on the couch. She was muttering to her phone as she leaned over the couch and put her phone in front of Casey’s face. 

“Oh my god, look at this decision, this is ridiculous,” she said, starting her counter-argument, dismantling the argument in what she was reading. She was talking fast, her face cute and animated and worked up, right next to her. 

-

Call it a delay in self-awareness via sublimation and denial. 

Hiding behind a bad history, and a faith that she’d lost when she was a teenager (they’d basically told her all of her friends who weren’t Catholic would not go to heaven). She wanted very little part of that, (not that she’d ever tell her mother that)…

And yet she had still buried this - deep. 

Denial and sublimation. 

So much sublimation that it got her all the way to Harvard. 

She shook her head at the amount of time and regrets it took her to get here. 

And all it took to break it all down was this woman. 

This tall goddess, with crystal blue eyes and perfect shiny blond hair that could only exist via blessing or eternal wealth. Considering the woman leaning above her, maybe both. 

When Serena handed over her phone number, it took two weeks of psyching herself up for Casey to call her, and a simple kiss at the end of that first date to feel the confirmation. 

It was, unassailable, corroborating evidence. 

Casey had never expected to feel everything click into place. 

Serena probably worried that she would change her mind and decide that this was just an experiment. It’s wasn’t. She’d done the experiment. This merely confirmed those results. 

Jesus, did this confirm those results.

This thing that was happening between her and Serena… well, she really wasn’t ready to admit what this was to her.

Serena had been patient with Casey coming to terms with it herself, let alone with coming out. She was incredibly understanding and very, very patient. 

They’d undoubtedly moved a lot slower than Serena was probably used to. A side effect that let them get to know each other well, because she knew that Serena was fun. But she learned that she was funny and had a hidden nerd streak, which made her all the more charming. Serena also read suspense novels, liked getting her tarot cards read, and played tennis at a private club. She was deeply analytical, and often impulsive. She would lean across a restaurant table and kiss her, not caring if it was making a scene or if anyone was looking. 

Casey found that there was one benefit in not realizing she was a lesbian until she was closer to thirty than she was to twenty. Because learning to be comfortable with this was perhaps distracting enough to avoid fretting about how strong her feelings for this woman were, and that was before they’d had sex. She knew she could fall for this woman. Like a stone. 

It was too good to be true. She was too good to be true. Everything about how Casey was raised, along with her own abbreviated dating record, told her to expect the worst. Because things that were too good to be true… 

But that worry was muted every time she met Serena’s bright-blue eyes. 

-

“Do you have any plans on your birthday?” she found herself saying, once Serena’s rant was over and her phone abandoned for laying in Casey’s lap on the couch. 

“Other than work, no,” Serena said, a matter of fact. 

“You work on your birthday?”

“Don’t you?”

Casey pretended to think about it, but didn’t have to. She always worked on her birthday. 

“Good point.” She laughed. “I was wondering if I could reserve that night then. For something special.”

“That sounds suspiciously like something a girlfriend would do,” Serena threw. 

It sounded like a thinly veiled attempt at nonchalance, softer and less confident than she usually was. 

Casey fought hard to clamp down on a what was sure to be a decidedly unsexy, naive, over-eager squeal. She couldn’t keep down a lip that quivered into a slow grin though. “I would really like that,” she said. “If you’re offering the position.”

“It’s settled then,” Serena said, and leaned up and kissed her. “Do I get to know what we’re doing on my birthday?”

“Do you want to know, or do you want to wait and be surprised?”

“You can surprise me.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re worth the wait.”


	2. The first (pt 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was an answer to a Sports Fluff request for C/S
> 
> This is related to the chapter The First. It's more in depth, from Casey's point of view.

-

Serena held her hand as they walked home from a late dinner, lacing their fingers together, and leaned her head on her shoulder. And again, Casey felt a little surprised, that such a simple thing could cause butterflies in her stomach.

She was way too old for butterflies.

Serena lifted her head up and looked at her. “What are you doing on Saturday?”

“Only a workout,” Casey said, thinking through her plans. “But but I’m open. What are your plans?”

“The only thing I had scheduled was a pilates class,” she smiled.

Casey found herself staring at Serena’s smile. When she was caught out, Serena only smiled harder.

“Pilates?” Casey bit her lip and then shook her head once. “Is that what you like to do for workouts?”

“I like variety, so I go through the different classes at my gym, but I do stick to a killer kettlebell routine.”

“Kettlebells,” Casey repeated, a little surprised and impressed. “Thats kind of… sexy.”

Serena flashed her a pleased smile. “What’s your workout like?”

“It depends on the season really.” Casey shrugged a little.

Serena tilted her head in a questioning glance.

“In general, I like to run or bike to clear my head. But preseason strength and conditioning are so ingrained that I add them in when I’m getting ready for softball season.”

“Do yo play in a competitive league?”

“It’s not a competitive league, on paper,” she laughed. “I play on a team with mostly ADAs. We play cops, there’s a courthouse team, other teams of lawyers, firefighters. It’s supposed to be a beer league. But there’s a lot of bragging rights, and like I said, it doesn’t feel right not to be ready.”

“So, what do you do for the preseason?”

“Switch off days of typical lifting for the major muscle groups with running, and when I run I’ll throw in some speed or agility work.”

“That sounds pretty intensive for a beer league.”

“Actually, it’s just sort of automatic now, and not nearly as intense as it was back in the day, I mean, I know I’m no longer 18… those were some really pointed workouts.”

“I’ll bet,” Serena said. “Do you like playing other sports?”

“I grew up in Virginia with a father who wanted sons,” she grinned again.

“Do you play tennis?”

“Yes,” she hesitated a beat. “But I’m not very good.”

“Would you want to play with me on Saturday then?”

She almost laughed at the absurdity of the question. She knew she’d do anything with her. She’d wait in line at the DMV with her. She’d never experienced this kind of want before.

“That depends on if you get really annoyed by just how often I hit the ball way out of bounds.”

She smiled widely. “I can get an extra bucket of balls.”

“Then you’re on.”

They slowed to a stop in front of her building, and Serena waved down a cab, and arranged for it to wait for her a couple of car lengths ahead.

“Then I guess I’ll see you Saturday,” she said, sliding up to Casey so smoothly that if they were in water, she’d leave no wake.

And then she was kissing her.

Casey couldn’t help it, she deepened the kiss, parting her lips automatically, and gently brushing her tongue across her lips. She couldn’t possibly know what the sound that Serena made would do to her - it was just a small moan of surprise. It sent a wave of honest to goodness tingles throughout her body, causing goosebumps and let loose what felt like a herd of butterflies in her stomach.

Serena seemed to sense that, and took over the kiss. She felt a thumb softly smooth along her cheekbone, and Serena gently captured her lower lip, biting it ever so gently. The groan that was pulled from her, could hardly be anywhere near equal, but Casey no longer had the ability to consider any of it at the moment, being impossibly bombarded by sensation again.

When she pulled away though, she saw her flushed face, the darkened sea of blue in her intense gaze, and the nearly ragged breathing to match Casey’s. It made the butterflies start to stampede.

Serena pulled back a bit, and adjusted the collar of Casey’s shirt, smiling. “Good night,” she said, like she hadn’t just taken Casey apart, and kissed her on the cheek before getting into her cab.

Casey could still feel the aftershocks.

-

On Saturday, Casey was a hell of a lot more comfortable than she had assumed she would be.

She hadn’t noticed any elitist, questioning looks. There were no dismissive glances when they entered Serena’s club, hand in hand.

She supposed she looked much like most people that were there for exercise, albeit in her newest and nicest workout gear. She supposed she looked like she was there to participate in the yoga or zumba or other cardio classes more than tennis… there were actually a few people in traditional crisp tennis whites and tennis dresses. But overall it was casual enough and she didn’t feel like she stood out.

Overall, she didn’t even play that terrible of a match. They played three sets with Casey giving olympian efforts, and maybe a few awkward stumbles. But the real problem wasn’t keeping up or being fast enough. The real problem was keeping the ball in the court.

Serena looked nothing less than perfect. Each time she served, her body displayed just how long and regal it was. She tossed up the ball so smoothly, her body stretching out, pausing on a precise plane before solidly hitting it across the net. And then Casey would have to remember to try and return the serves.

Most often when she returned it, she returned it long.

Very long.

After the fourth or eighth time, when the ball was hit to her forehand side, Casey returned it well over the net. Over the net, out of the court, and nearly out of the yard.

She held her hands out to her sides in an exaggerated shrug and let her head fall forward.

Serena laughed and put down her racket and came onto Casey’s side of the court.

“Well, it looked like a home run to me,” Serena said with a teasing grin.

Casey let out a soft laugh through her nose and a tight lipped smile. “I did warn you.”

“Come on,” she said, smiling softly and sliding into Casey’s personal space with an ease that Casey thought should be impossible. Next thing she knew they were as close as could be without physically touching.

And then came the touching.

“All you need are a few adjustments,” Serena said, and poked her lightly in the stomach. She came up behind Casey, placing her hands on her hips, her warm hands burning through the thin nylon shirt.

“Don’t lead with your hips,” she said, and squeezed Casey’s, holding them still to emphasize her point, sending heat throughout the core of her body.

“Step into the hit with your lead leg,” Serena continued. “And rotate down through the stroke continuously.”

She moved one hand up to Casey’s right shoulder, and traced the touch from the top all the way down to her wrist, leaving a trail of goosbumps along the way. “Think of it as leaning into the ball, with the racket forward and tilting down,” she turned Casey’s wrist a few degrees. “To get a little spin.”

Casey nodded as if her brain was actually capable of absorbing coaching at the moment. She wanted to though, and took a deep breath in and tried to concentrate on what Serena was saying.

And then Serena placed a quick, sweet kiss on her lips before returning to her side of the court and Casey’s brain threatened to short circuit again.

She let out the deep breath. Lean into the ball, racket tilted down. She breathed in as deep as she could and stretched her neck to crack it. Step into the hit.

She let out another deep breath as Serena smiled and motioned with the ball and racket, asking if she was ready.

She took another breath and smiled and nodded, more than ready.

-

“I got you a water,” Serena said, a smile full of teeth and handing over a large, clear cup of ice water with sliced strawberries, lemons and mint in it.

“Fancy water,” Casey said.

Serena winked and looked like she was going to respond, when a friendly voice caught both of their attentions.

“Serena,” she said.

“Judge Ross, how are you?” Serena responded and took a slight step toward Casey. “Do you know Casey Novak?”

Jamie Ross nodded and shook both their hands. “It’s nice to see you both,”she said, friendly and smiling. “Do you have time for a short set?” she said, directing her attention back toward Serena.

“We were just going to lunch,” she motioned to Casey.

“Oh,” Ross said, her eyes going wide in a brief flash of surprise, and then a bigger smile of understanding. “Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” And she gave something of a pleased nod toward Serena.

“Not at all,” Serena said, catching Casey’s eyes and smiling.

Casey put her hand on Serena’s arm, lightly and just above her elbow, stopping their exit. “I know I wasn’t a very challenging opponent,” Casey said. “I can wait if you want to play a bit more. I could use the break.”

“Are you sure?” she said, giving her half a shrug. “I forgot that the regulars here are used to me playing pick up games,” she said, “But I don’t have to if you’re hungry.”

“I can wait,” she smiled, and felt her dimples crease her cheeks. “Show me what you can do,” she said, and winked, proud of herself for allowing that side of her out.

-

The airy space between the floor and the beams above offered an odd mix of court echos, the pings of the balls and court talk, but also mingled voices, conversations from the bar and cafe tables not far off. Casey preferred to be closer though, and sat on the small set of bleachers that aligned the courts.

While there were many things to notice about Serena, (Casey particularly liked this outfit - her legs were the hardest to ignore, her muscles so subtly contoured her long, elegant limbs). But, even with that distraction, she could tell that something was off about the current set Serena was playing.

She returned the serves easily, but only as hard as they were hit, matching each stroke. Judge Ross was slightly older, and looked enough in shape, but not quite looking nearly as fit as Serena - and they were going head to head.

Serena won two of three sets, and seemed to win those fairly easily. She shook her hand and offered a ‘nice-game’ and a ‘your backhand is getting really good’ with every bit earnest sportsmanship. Judge Ross smiled and waved to Casey as she left.

“I think she approves of me having lunch with you,” Serena said, smiling with a warm look in her eyes, as she came back to stand in front of the row Casey was sitting on.

“You can tell that?”

“I’ve been playing her for a few months. We’ve gotten to know each other a little bit. I’m hoping that someday soon she might let me into her poker game,” she said. “But, yeah, I can tell.” She stepped a little closer.

At Casey’s questioning glance, she continued.

“I might have gone for wrong types in the past, and I think that there are a few people who will happily approve of…you.”

“What is the wrong type?”

“The kind that just don’t bring out the best in me.” She shrugged a little. “Bad girls, I guess, for a lack of a better term.”

“Ah,” Casey said, a little chagrinned. “That’s um, not quite my reputation, is it.”

Serena grabbed her hand, holding it, running the pad of her thumb along the soft skin on the top, and then squeezed it and pulled her close. “No, it’s not,” she said, and smiled at her, looking into her eyes.

Her mouth snapped closed and she swallowed. Serena’s eyes seemed to follow that movement and then trailed slowly up her neck until she met her gaze again.

As Casey was moments from yet another moment of involuntary PDA, another voice startled them apart. This voice, however, was louder and slightly obnoxious.

“Serena, got time for one?” he said.

Casey laughed softly at the interruption, before she recognized him as a criminal defense attorney.

“John got called back to the office and I still have the court,” he motioned over his shoulder with his thumb.

“I was heading to lunch,” she said, a definite shake of her head.

“Come on,” he pleaded. “You killed me last time, you owe me a chance to redeem myself.”

“Maybe next time,” she said, opening her bag to re-sheath her racket.

“You afraid I might beat you this time?”

She looked over at Casey who just smiled and shrugged.

“Alright, but just one set.”

-

What commenced was an entirely different game than the last, faster, and miles different from when she played Casey.

Serena served, and he couldn’t make the return. She served again, and this time he returned it, but he hit it too hard and way out of bounds. The third serve was finally returned and then a sharp, manic volley commenced, ending shortly in Serena’s favor. Her fourth serve had him sliding out of bounds trying to get to it fast enough. The rest of the match went much the same, fast and powerfully mastered by Serena.

-

“Okay, you play a light and easy game with me, trying to get me not to hit it into the stratosphere,” she said as they ate lunch at the club’s restaurant. “And you let a few points go to Ross, letting her win one set. I know you let her… But you you absolutely demolished that guy in the last game.”

“Well, the last one,” she shrugged. “Some people need to lose.”

Casey knew that her grin had to look a little stupid, but something about that comment caused another small, yet insistent tug at her heart. Every little thing she learned about the woman, from the fact that she had potted orchids in her bathroom, to the little acts of karmic balancing through tennis, made her realize that there wasn’t a single part of this woman that she didn’t want.

“I have a rather complicated history with the sport,” Serena said.

Casey tilted her head in contemplation, and made a go-on gesture while sipping at her water.

“It was one of the very few things that perked my father’s interest in me,” she said. “He seemed to like that I took to it, and paid for as many camps and private coaches and trainers as I wanted.” She frowned a little, playing with the vegetables on her plate with her fork. “But after all that work… he only ever came to one match, and he worked on his phone and laptop the whole time. He didn’t even come to the state championship.”

“That’s…” Casey started, but didn’t know how to end the sentence without disparaging the man. “I can’t imagine.”

“Yeah,” Serena said, seeming to agree with the unfinished sentence. “I got really good though.” She laughed ruefully. “I stopped playing for a while after that, but eventually I came back to it for stress relief. It slowly became fun again.”

“I’m glad you didn’t lose something you loved because of…”

“Benign neglect?”

“It doesn’t sound that benign.”

“It really wasn’t that bad. Once I figured all of that out and I stopped trying to impress him, things got better for me.”

“He’s the one who should be trying to impress you,” Casey smiled softly at her. “Because, you are…” she stumbled, not even sure where she was going with this and her throat suddenly starting to go dry. “You are… something.”

“Something?” A grin and half a giggle escaped her lips and her tone sounded amused.

Casey could feel her face turning red, and she quickly tried to get the rest of that thought out before she felt even more idiotic. “Amazing. You are amazing, and anyone who doesn’t take the time to spend time with you is missing out.”

The amused smile on Serena’s face changed, and grew slowly until it was dazzling.

“Come here,” she said, and motioned with her head as she leaned to meet Casey in the middle of the table. She placed her palm on Casey’s cheek and pulled her into a kiss.

The touch and the kiss were so soft and gentle that it brought out goosebumps on her skin, and she had to close her eyes to deal with all of the sensations.

Her eyes were still closed as the kiss ended and they resumed their seats to finish lunch. When she opened them again, she found that they were looking at each other with nearly matching smiles.

“You’re very sweet.”

She didn’t know quite how long she was lost in that stare, but then a warm hand slid onto her bare knee, and her stomach clenched around the organic free range chicken she had been eating.

And then, the hand traced started tracing random patters, setting her skin on fire, sending a heat trail through her core that rose through her body until it reached the back of her neck and she could feel the heat in her ears.

Serena wiggled an eyebrow, but let Casey off the hook.

“So,” she said. “What do you want to do with the rest of the day?”


	3. The first (pt 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here is the *NEW* Serena companion chapter. (I actually wrote this one first, but never really finished tweaking it... and wasn't sure it was necessary...but why not)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> previously unpublished ;)

-

_Please_ -

It was a common whisper of late; a plea, from somewhere deep inside, a ghost of a prayer. 

_-let this one last_

-

  
She thought she knew herself so well, and yet she’d surprised herself, big time, going so slow. She’d been more than ready to accept the pace of Casey’s becoming comfortable with dating a woman for the first time. Of course she was, she could still remember what it was like, how overwhelming everything could be. She found that in being patient and accepting, that she’d unintentionally given herself quite a lot of time to get caught-up too. And now, there was _something_ here. Something more than just the incredibly addictive possibility that Casey might be thinking about her as much as she thought about Casey. 

-

  
“So, you really want to go to the batting-cages?” Casey smiled and reached out to pull her closer, wrap her freckled arms around her, her warm hands slipping into Serena’s back pockets and tugging gently. 

Serena couldn’t fight the satisfied, slow grin that grew; as Casey had grown more and more comfortable with the physical nature of their relationship, she also grew more and more demonstrative. 

The gains in physical familiarity, with not so subtle hints of desire, never failed to hit Serena right in the chest. 

“You did go with me to the club,” Serena said, and placed a soft kiss onto her lips. 

“It was fun. I liked watching you.” She smiled. “Have you ever played softball?”

“No. I’ve always wanted to try though, especially the batting,” she placed another short, sweet kiss on Casey’s lips, unable to resist. 

Casey pulled her closer still, her fingers gripping at her hips with a hint of possession, and deepened the kiss. Serena brought one hand around her neck and into her hair, letting her fingers part rivers of smooth red locks and lightly scratching her scalp. She heard Casey’s breath hitch and watched her eyes flutter closed. 

“Okay then,” Casey said, stepping back, a little dazed. She pulled out her phone and considered the options. “One batting-cages session coming up.”

“We can pick up dinner afterward if you want to.”

“I’d love that,” she grinned. “Actually, the place I’m thinking of has the best food trucks parked down the street…” she winced and then looked at Serena for an indication of interest, when she saw a smile, she continued. “Korean BBQ, a four-star hot dog guy, and the famous ice-cream sandwich truck.”

“How has it taken me this long to go to the batting cages then?” Serena said, grinning. 

Casey paused, and then smiled even more widely. “I wasn’t sure you’d be interested.”

“I told you I’m full of surprises.”

“I love that about you.”

-

She felt the plea inside her heart again so strongly that she had to close her eyes. Sometimes it came with a warning:

_‘Never fall for the straight girls-’_

She sighed, and tried not to let herself finish that sentence.

She reminded herself, yet again, that she was positive Casey was not straight. 

It wasn’t much, but it was her one reassuring mantra. 

Being someone’s first anything was daunting because, well, her cynical side reminded her that the term alone: “First” comes with the heavy implication there will eventually be another.

She’d even had a stray thought or two of breaking this off before Casey changed her mind or moved on, before she got too deep, but her heart just left the door wide open instead. 

-

By the end of that party, she was so very happy that her friend had guilted her into going with him. 

She hadn’t been looking forward to it, knowing she’d end up stuck by the bar, waiting for Mitchel to tire of an audience. Indeed, he did spend the night trying to reassure himself of his latest case, reciting his best argument, the that he thought was so brilliant even though he knew that Serena wasn't sold. Undaunted, he was repeating it to anyone who came within a three foot radius. 

Once again, Serena couldn’t believe that this guy had beat her out for moot court. At least she had been editor of law review - Mitch didn’t even make it into final consideration. But, he was amazing in court. He was tall and handsome, rich and connected, had a solid reputation, and knew that people couldn’t afford to duck around him.

Except for Serena, who kept rolling her eyes at him, having long ago given up on getting him to listen to her opinion. (His case wasn’t ready.) 

She smirked again, grabbed a refill and parked herself at the good spot at the bar, where she would be able to listen with satisfaction, and not a small touch of schadenfreude, as she watched people get sucked into his flypaper-web. After all, most of the ones that got caught deserved to be stuck there. 

And then, someone from her old life fell into his trap.

Straight away, she recognized SVU’s lucky snag from White Collar, Casey Novak, even though they had never been properly introduced. 

Which was strange when she thought about it, because it felt like she’d known everybody when she was in the DA’s office. She supposed it had to do with the fact that it was a smaller bureau, so overworked that they didn’t end up socializing much with the others, tending to keep within the tight turning circles of their ADAs and squad. 

Serena watched closely with a growing smile, immediately interested in seeing the ADA’s reaction to Mitchell, not even bothering with hiding her attention in the bar or her drink. 

Novak seemed to only be half-heartedly listening though, and her posture was so at ease that the woman was either, entirely not-charmed by Mitchell, or had no idea who he was. The redhead nodded once or twice while listening, nibbling at the passing appetizers offered to her. 

And then, as he wrapped up with his ever-polished conclusion, Serena’s smile grew as she witnessed the whole argument torn apart. Novak demolished every point he made as casually as if they were talking about a bad television show- and not a case that was intended to be brought in front of the State’s Supreme Court. 

Novak even thanked him with a jocular pat on the shoulder for the interesting talk as she was waved over to another group across the room.   
  
Serena almost choked on her drink as Mitchell absolutely deflated in front of her, staggering onto the seat next to her, slack-jawed at his defeat. Serena motioned for the bartender to bring him another drink, and tried not to laugh. 

“Oh my god,” he said, coming back to himself after taking a sip and analyzing the conversation he’d just had again. “She’s right.”

“I’m sorry,” Serena said, patting him on the shoulder and trying not to laugh. “But I think she is. You should probably send her your consultant’s fee.”

“Oh my god, I need to get back to the office,” he said, dropping a few bills for their drinks, and pulling his phone out to no doubt call some first-year associates to start researching anew. She did laugh this time and she waved him goodbye. She had not been looking forward to the party, and she ended up having the best time. 

She watched Novak from across the room for a while before approaching her. It wasn’t hard to find her in the crowd, after all, Casey was a tall, statuesque redhead who definitely stood out. 

Serena came up to her once she was alone, and they’d ended up talking, easily going toe to toe on old office gossip, movies, books, and even the latest article in an ethics journal. It was an unexpectedly fun conversation and she had a great time during it. 

And then Casey smiled at her. 

It was a very sweet little smile that probably gave away more than she intended, and Serena was so instantly charmed that she almost melted. 

She knew that this woman wasn’t her usual type, and she rarely was the one who did the asking out, let alone the hitting-on… but there was something about the redhead. She was beautiful and funny, upfront, and was adorably nervous when she realized she was being flirted with. 

The silence afterward made Serena wonder if she had misread the signs that badly. 

But then she called. 

-

When she suggested Casey take her to the batting cages, she had to admit that she longed to see Casey in her element. Strong and determined. Powerful, long, lean muscles working to demolish the baseball or whatever. She hadn’t expected Casey to take it upon herself to teach her how to bat. 

“This place is bigger than I expected,” Serena said, looking up at the towering warehouse-high ceilings, and the long hallways to the different cages separated by chain-link fencing. The individual batting cages were big too, some even had video screens and barricades for a pitcher or at least room for someone to feed the pitching machines. 

“This place has the most cages on the Upper West Side,” Casey said as she walked them down a long hallway to their assigned batting cage. “There’s a place over in Queens that I like a little bit more, but because this one’s so big it was easier to reserve a spot here tonight.”

“You have to make a reservation?” she said, and then was interrupted by a flurry of teenage motion and excitement that flew by Serena as a young woman skidded to a halt in front of Casey. 

“Coach!” 

“Chloe,” Casey said, smiling in reflex and looking around for the rest of the teenager’s entourage. “How are you doing?”

“I made varsity!” the teenager squealed. “I did the conditioning routine you told me to in the off-season, and I made varsity!”

“I knew you could do it,” Casey said, and then the two exchanged a slightly complicated high-five. 

The girl looked back over her shoulder at her leaving group. “I have to go, but are you coaching this year? Please say yes!”

“I might be, if my schedule works out.”

“I’ll look for your name,” she squealed again as she ran down the hall. “Bye, coach!”

She grinned at Casey. “Coach? You coach kids? Ones that you’re not even related to?”

“Yeah,” she laughed. “I’ve done it a few times. Some old teammates from college coach for a rec league and pulled me in. It’s nice to see kids happy and playing. I bring the team here to practice at least a few times a season.”

“You know, you really are very sweet,” was Serena’s reply. However, _How were you single?_ Bounced around her brain once again. 

The atmosphere was hardly inclined to romance, but Casey surprised her all the time with how fast a burgeoning confidence was settling in. She was becoming so effortlessly seductive that Serena was having a hard time keeping her feet on the ground. 

There was a subtle gym and metallic smell throughout the building. There were constant whoosh-clank sounds bouncing off the walls and ceiling. And she had to wear a borrowed, plastic helmet, that had to be messing up her hair. All of it should have bothered her. 

And yet when Casey came up behind her, molding her chest to Serena’s back, and her arms alongside Serena’s showing and adding gentle pressure to guide the angle of her elbows… strong hands were at her hips showing directing her where to bend… long fingers wrapped around hers at the handle, showing her how hard to grip the bat… 

The instant heat was enough of a distraction to ignore the very solid balls flying by, slamming into a painted silhouette of a baseball player on the nets behind them. 

“Turn your hips, and your body will follow,” Casey said. 

Serena felt the sentence more than she heard it, and she turned her head to reply. “I can already tell,” Serena said softly near Casey’s ear, her voice was thicker and deeper than normal. “That you’re going to be my favorite coach too.”

She could feel the blush in Casey's face and she was a little more than reluctant to let the moment pass, but if they didn’t separate their bodies this second, she was going to turn this into something a little too much for a public space. 

Thankfully Casey stepped back to let her take a few practice swings. 

“Just like that,” she grinned. “And keep your eyes on the ball.”

Serena swung hard and purposefully, and the bat vibrated between her palms when it hit the ball, leaving her with just the slightest sting. She found that she immensely enjoyed the satisfying smack of hitting something, and turned and grinned madly at Casey. 

“Nice!” Casey said from her spot next to the pitching machine. 

“Did I impress you?” Serena smirked. 

“That would definitely get you to second base,” Casey smiled. 

She couldn’t help saying, “Is that so?” 

Casey breathed hard through a tight-lipped smile and tried and failed to shake off another blush. And this time Serena could not repress her giggles, enjoying in particular, just how adorable the redhead was sometimes.

And Serena felt it again - the recurrent flutter in her heart. 

She shook it off and turned to finish her batting set. “Okay, it’s your turn next, slugger,” she winked. “Then you get to show me what you got.”

  
-

  
Being patient with this was the hardest and easiest thing in the world to do, at the same time. Everything felt right. And holy shit, somehow, against her tangled history and the pessimistic, cynical heart that was begging her not to get torn again, somehow, she was in this from the very beginning. 

Casey was so different from the women she’d been involved with in the past. Hopefully just different enough that she wouldn’t be as inclined to playing games, or cheating, or losing interest quickly. 

Because nothing previous had lasted, and no one had been there to help her mend her heart when things went wrong. All she could do, really, is to plead with the universe. 

  
-

  
Casey had quickly mastered a languid, methodical way of kissing her until her breath went ragged, and then she’d pause, and wait for Serena to indicate wanting to continue; wait with her lips a hairs-breath away until Serena’s body missed the touch so much it made her chase after it. 

Serena didn’t know how she was going to handle it when they took off the training wheels. Thinking about that could make her dizzy.

Goodbyes had been taking longer and longer, and this one had stretched out to almost a half-hour.

“I don’t want you to go,” Casey said, kissing her at a pulse point. 

Serena’s heart swelled up so big it could have popped into a million pieces. 

“I don’t want to go,” she finally said. 

“Can I request remand?”

Serena reached up to tuck a strand of red hair behind a delicate ear. “I am definitely not a flight risk.”

Casey laughed and Serena drank it in. She looked into those jade green eyes with golden flecks, eyes made intense with desire, and read the confirmation of Casey being ready. 

Her body nearly enabled a full override of her brain, but she smiled though, and took deep breaths and reminded herself, again; slow. 

It didn’t mean that she didn’t need to press her up against her granite countertop to get some… control in the situation, to steady herself somehow.

She knew she was in trouble, because even going slowly, she was still subjected to distraction as she tried to guide them to the bedroom - she felt like she was staggering just to get across the kitchen. Just a few strategic touches from Casey along the way and she was desperate for something solid to lean against…and then Casey pressed her up against the wall, and her heart rate tripled. 

It was just sex. She didn’t know what was coming over her, and why she was shaking already, or why she was this nervous. Except that by now, she knew. She was too far gone, and it wasn’t going to be - just. 

But then Casey whispered her name. Serena’s eyes fluttered closed and she smiled and led them into the bedroom. 

-

_Just, please._


End file.
